Revenant Desire
by yukisana
Summary: Yukimura - senior high 3rd year - finally has a girlfriend. But what will happen to the unity of the tennis team and the relationship between Sanada and Yukimura? Friendship is fragile, easily broken and hard to mend. YukimuraxOC & ALPHA PAIR
1. PROLOGUE

**A Prince of Tennis fanfic.  
SanaYuki pairing. Slight YukimuraxOC.  
**

**Rating:** T - for language and future plot

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** There are YukimuraxOC, but... if you know me... (I don't want to spoil the plot!!)

Enjoy and... reviews please

**PROLOGUE**

* * *

Love, like all other relationships, is an entanglement of complex emotions. It is a sheet of white paper, the purity of it effortlessly ruined by the contamination of a small droplet of black ink. Any attempts to undo this act will be futile and can only worsen it, expending the unsightly accident. After all, the moment the ink tarnishes the white paper, it is irreversible. Love is fragile. It is delicate, so easily crumpled, torn into a thousand and one pieces, and scattered into the raging winds.

* * *

It was a lovely day, the sky without a speck of cloud and the air fresh without a single trace of wind. The conditions were perfect for tennis training and Niou, Yagyuu, Marui and Kirihara were already at the courts early in the morning. For some strange reason, after a comment about Michael Jackson, Yukimura's sexuality aroused amidst their conversation, and everyone had a strong point of view on that topic.

"He's not gay," Marui argued, although it was hard to understand his words as there were two packets of gum in his mouth, "he's just _metrosexual_."

"If he's not homosexual," Niou bickered, "he must be at least bisexual."

"Why don't you just use the term _pansexual_ then?" Marui said, and Kirihara's mouth dropped open in confusion. "It's the same as _omnisexual_, Akaya, I told you that weeks ago, remember?"

"I believe Yukimura is heterosexual," Yagyuu said, "he could just be suffering from something like Klinefelter's syndrome."

"He may be androgynous, you know," Niou grinned, "Yukimura does seem a bit hermaphroditic."

There was a pause. "Senpai," Kirihara finally spoke, "I've seen him in the showers."

"HA!" Niou pointed at Kirihara, grabbing him by the collars, "you're being deceived by a _very, very_ good disguise."

"He could be transsexual." Yanagi appeared out of nowhere, adding his suggestion to the box. "It is a possibility."

"I think buchou has been Yukimura _Seiichi_ for his entire life." Yagyuu pointed out, "I've seen the tennis trophies he got over the past years - unless he changed his sexuality when he was five or something."

"I was just joking." Yanagi frowned; no one seemed to have understood his humour. "Anyway, Genichirou is here, so we should stop talking about this."

Everyone seemed to agree to this, and started warming up. Sanada joined them, but instead of shouting laps as the regulars had expected, he simply stretched with a stoic expression. He looked normal, but the air around him was unusually quiet, lacking energy and readiness. The clock struck seven and all the regulars had arrived - all, that is, except for Yukimura. Niou was getting restless and Marui annoyed; the buchou who despised late arrival was committing the crime himself.

"Let's start practicing," Sanada said emotionlessly, "Niou and Yagyuu..."

"Gomen!" Yukimura ran onto the courts, oblivious to the glares he was receiving. He apologised for his lateness again before pairing the regulars for matches.

By the time training ended, everyone had forgotten about it. However, they were reminded of the annoyance they felt in the morning when Yukimura announced that he could not attend the afternoon session. No one dared to question him, assuming it was for a genuine reason; their buchou never missed training before for a minute matter. On the other hand, they did not mind Sanada taking charge in the afternoon, because with the meek attitude he held this morning, they were guaranteed to have an easy time.

Yukimura had rushed off quickly after his shower, allowing the topic of his sexuality to arise again. Niou clung to his theory of Yukimura being a homosexual, while Marui disagreed, strongly believing Yukimura was simply metrosexual. Eventually, Kirihara, Jackal, even Yanagi and Yagyuu joined in the pointless squabble.

"Niou," Sanada stepped out of the showers and Niou cringed. He could already hear the hour long lecture booming tediously against his eardrums. "Yukimura's not gay."

There was silence in the change rooms, but the question of "how do you know?" resonated piercingly off the tiled walls.

"Because he has a girlfriend." Sanada said quietly. Niou's mouth dropped open and Kirihara slipped on a puddle of water.

"See? I was right." Marui mumbled.

* * *

Reviews please!


	2. LUST

**A Prince of Tennis fanfic.  
SanaYuki pairing. Slight YukimuraxOC.  
**

**Rating:** T - for language and future plot

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** I feel sorry for the team...

Enjoy and... reviews please

**LUST**

* * *

Lust is not Love. The two are polar opposites. Love liberates while lust binds.

* * *

It was lunchtime, and Sanada and Yagyuu were patrolling the school as part of their prefect duties. Talks of Yukimura - the most popular senior in Rikkai - and his girlfriend surrounded the two as they inspected the classrooms. Sanada listened with amusement to the unfriendly accusations of Yukimura being a player, most of which were spoken by the captain of the baseball team. Yagyuu explained to Sanada that the girl Yukimura was apparently dating was from the cheerleading squad and that the baseball team's captain had been after her for years.

During afternoon practice, this topic was the centre of the regular's discussion as well, and although Sanada told them to concentrate, threatening them with laps, the gossip seemed to be unstoppable. "Buchou finally has a girlfriend!" Marui sang as he returned Niou's serve.

"Well, it's about time," Niou punched the ball back with a top-spin forehand, "considering that he _is_ the most popular person in our school by far."

"He's so young." Marui grinned, lowering his racquet for a drop shot.

"He's seventeen," Niou pointed out as he ran forward, catching the ball just on time and sending it back with an unintended lob, "turning eighteen next March."

"Well, besides from Akaya, he _is_ the baby of the team." Marui's grin widened as he drove the ball down the line, "Niou, it's my point!"

"Both of you had girlfriends before senior high," Yagyuu was sitting on the sidelines, "so stop criticizing Yukimura-kun."

"We're not the _pure and innocent_ Yukimura though," Niou said, pausing in mid-sentence to curse as he missed the ball, "and he's not here anyway. So just as well say it now."

But Yukimura came fifteen minutes later. "Buchou, I thought you weren't coming!" Kirihara greeted him enthusiastically, eager to show off the amount of opponents he had beaten within a fifteen minutes time span.

"I decided to come." Yukimura said, looking displeased. The team wondered if it was Sanada who forced him to come, but when they saw the surprised look Sanada had when he caught sight of his buchou, it was evident that there was another reason. That reason began to reveal itself when they were in the showers, after Jackal mentioned the tickets he got for Wimbledon.

Yukimura began muttering about people who didn't know their basic knowledge, much to the confusion of the team. The cause became a bit more obvious when Yukimura's _girlfriend_ turned up, asking for him. "I'm not here." Yukimura whispered, hiding in the showers. Yagyuu politely told her that Yukimura had already gone home and when she discontentedly left, everyone's curiosity could no longer be suppressed.

"Why am I hiding from her? Well, guess what she asked me during lunch?" They were rhetorical questions, the team assumed. "Who's Wimbledon?" Yukimura said, in a mocking imitation of her high-pitched voice, "what's an Andy Roddick? Roger Federer, is he a singer? Rafael Nadal? What are you talking about?" At the end of the comical mimicry - which was of course not intended to be funny - Yukimura snapped and threw his towel on the floor, cursing angrily.

"Whoa, no need to get so heated up just because she didn't know about tennis." Niou said, slightly amused. "Your relationship won't last long if you're so picky!"

"I've had enough of her complaining to her friends how I won't kiss her!" A string of inappropriate words followed the sudden explosion.

"You don't kiss her?" Everyone gasped. "Why?"

"I don't want to." Yukimura muttered, "why should I kiss someone who doesn't even know what _volleying_ is?" Sanada agreed, but the rest of the team shook their heads in desperation; Yukimura's passion for tennis was an obstacle in his relationship - an obstacle that seemed pretty much impossible to overcome.

However, despite the complaints Yukimura had about his girlfriend, he still constantly gave her flowers and chocolates, and took her out on dates when he had free time. That relationship began to compromise with his tennis obligations, and disputes started erupting among the team, divided by their opinions on Yukimura's duty as captain.

"Sanada, tell him he's irresponsible!" Marui said loudly as soon as Yukimura disappeared from the change room.

"He can do whatever he wishes," Sanada replied as he did every time someone asked him to tell Yukimura off, "as long as it doesn't coincide with victory."

"It does!" Niou yelled. "He's _never_ on time for practices anymore and he skips at least one in four!"

"He's still as good as ever," Yagyuu pointed out, "you can't complain about his abilities until you can receive his serve, Niou-kun."

"Why are you defending Yukimura, Yagyuu?" Niou shouted, "you know he's wrong!"

"I'm not saying he's right!" Yagyuu howled, losing his self-control, "I'm just saying you don't have the right to intervene with Yukimura-kun's life!"

"ENOUGH!" Sanada roared. "Just concentrate on the Kanagawa prefecture's finals. Yukimura can handle himself."

All of them silenced, not simply because of the frustration in Sanada's voice which hinted laps, but because of the suppressed sadness that leached in his speech. Sanada's impassionate exterior barely contained his unspoken opinion of Yukimura's behaviour and the team silently agreed not to torture their fukubuchou's tolerance further; none of them wanted to suffer the laps that would follow if that shell cracked.

Sanada did not lose his calm however, and during the finals of the prefecture round, he won his match within twenty minutes, decimating his opponent 6-0. Yukimura had also proven his skills, winning by default when he sent his challenger into a state of yips using creeping shadows. After that demonstration, Niou and Marui no longer had any doubts about Yukimura's leadership, but when their buchou was not around, they did not hesitate to pass judgment on his girlfriend, who they had now pinpointed as the cause of the division in the team.

Since the two could no longer express their discontent freely, whenever Yukimura's girlfriend appeared on the courts, Niou and Marui would greet her with menacing snarls, telling her _Seiichi-chan_ was unavailable. Kirihara, who was quickly influenced by his senpai-tachi, screamed at her whenever she was within five metres of the courts.

"Will you three stop harassing her?" Yukimura finally said one afternoon. "Please?"

"No." Niou bluntly refused. "And I wasn't harassing her. _She_ was the one doing the harassment. Did you see the pink glitter that fell from her bag? It blinded me when I walked on court and I almost slipped on it. What if I fell and injured myself before the Kantou? "

"It's true, Yukimura." Sanada spoke surprisingly. "Please tell her not to bring her bag onto the courts next time."

"I will." Yukimura assured him and walked off without another word.

"Fukubuchou, why didn't you tell him not to let his _girlfriend_ come on court?" Marui cried desperately, "who cares about the bag? It's her! IT'S HER!"

"I don't have the right to do so." Sanada replied simply and sighed. Marui discontinued his persuasion; he could see how unhappy Sanada was feeling. It was Sanada's mild attitude towards this matter that made him angrier still, as even though his fukubuchou wasn't a close friend, it hurt him to see someone usually energetic to be so down, so depressed. However, the bitter feeling would be at its worst when Sanada defended Yukimura's actions, because his protective words were always betrayed by his clenching fists, revealing his true emotions.

By the time Kantou Tournament started, Niou and Marui had given up on breaking Yukimura and the cheerleader apart. Sanada's misery seemed to have spread, affecting the lively spirit the team generally had, taking its toll on their overall performance. Although none of them had lost a match so far, usually winning 6-0 or 6-1, their bonding was breaking apart, leading them to the path of destruction. All of them understood that in order to win against an opponent like Seigaku, their team needed unification, a process impossible at the moment. It felt as if the team was going to self-destruct. But Rikkai progressed to the semi-finals without hiccups and on the day - beautiful with an azure sky - their opponent was Fudomine. "Why is my doubles partner buchou?" Niou complained, "He's going to scream at every miss."

"He's your partner because you picked the short straw," Marui informed the silver-haired boy for the fifth time, grinning. Niou licked the lollipop Marui passed to him and sighed, not believing his bad luck.

"Ouch." Niou said when a girl bumped into him. "Look at the road when you're walking!" The girl had two long braids which flew behind her when she bowed clumsily to apologise.

Niou and Marui walked on, towards Court A, where their matches were held. Just when they were about to enter, a girl ran out and crashed into Niou. He swore loudly as he fell, with the girl on top of him. "Get off!" He shouted, and winced when he saw his bloody elbows. Marui pulled the girl up and gasped. Niou stood up and rolled his eyes, but froze when he saw who the girl was.

"Buchou's girlfriend?" Marui exclaimed. Tears were streaming down her face, and in response to Marui's question, she shoved him away and ran off.

"I'm in deep trouble." Niou grimaced in pain. "My knees and elbows..."

Marui frowned and at that moment, Jackal came out of the courts. "Buchou's getting annoyed! You two are late!"

"Jackal, come help me!" Marui shouted back. "Niou's hurt by buchou's _precious_ little girlfriend!" Jackal rushed over and inspected Niou's injuries, his face dropping as he did so. Together, they moved Niou to the audience stands, where he took a seat, his face contorted by pain as he did so.

"Can you play?" Sanada asked, crouching down to inspect and bandage Niou's wounds.

"I... buchou..." Niou stammered; telling Yukimura the truth felt like a bad idea, especially when the person who inflicted the injuries on him was his girlfriend. On the other hand, if he didn't tell the truth, he would probably be lectured - and punished - for his carelessness and irresponsibility.

"Tell him." Sanada said, cutting the bandage, "he won't kill you."

"Yes. He. Will." Niou articulated his words clearly, his heart banging against his ribcage as a certain wavy-haired boy moved towards him. "Oh. Shit."

"Yukimura," Sanada stood up from the crouching position, "Niou can't play, Jackal's going to replace him."

"Why?" Yukimura asked and bent down to look at Niou's wounds. "Hmm... they're pretty bad. How did you fall?"

Niou creased his eyebrows, wondering if the caring attitude was just a façade. "Um... someone bumped into me."

"Who was it?" Yukimura demanded, creasing his eyebrows.­

"Um..." Niou still couldn't decide whether he should tell the truth of not.

"It was that girl!" Marui blurted out, unable to contain his anger anymore, "she crashed into Niou and didn't even say sorry!"

Yukimura slapped his forehead lightly and apologized to Niou. "Sorry, I didn't know she would overreact like that." He sighed, "I just couldn't handle it anymore when she asked me what grip tape was. It annoyed me so much when she asked all those stupid questions which she should know the answer to, especially when she's a cheerleader for the tennis team!"

"Wait..." Niou blinked, "you dumped her?"

The rest of the team surrounded their buchou, waiting for an answer. Yukimura looked around his team with a confused expression, and just when he was about to explain, there was a loud shout coming from the cheerleaders, "I hate you!"

"No need to answer anymore." A cheesy grin lit up Niou's face as he gave Marui and Kirihara a high-five each. "Well, let's go for a perfect win today!"

Yukimura's mouth dropped open as the team laughed and cheered, a smile lifting everyone's gloomy faces. "I can't believe you hated her that much." He shook his head disbelievingly.

Niou shrugged, then turning to his kouhai, he shouted, "Akaya, go beat that rhythm guy! YEA!"

"Hmm... you have a problem, buchou." Marui's attitude was friendly again as he tapped on Yukimura's shoulder, signalling him to turn around. Yukimura spun around and saw a crowd of girls waving at him madly, blowing him kisses. He waved back half-heartedly and sat down. Marui took a seat beside him, grinning widely.

"Yukimura, let's go have all-you-can-eat buffet after this!" Marui said, "it'll be my treat."

Yukimura smiled, but before he could answer, someone from behind whacked him in the head with a purse. "Oi!" Marui spun around and barked furiously, "what are you doing? Are you trying to destroy him before his match?!"

But the girl ignored the red-haired genius and demanded, "why did you wave to those girls?"

The commotion attracted the attention of all the regulars - except for Kirihara and Yanagi, who were one game away from beating Kamio and Ibu - and they stared at Yukimura, wondering who the girl was.

"I'm asking you a question, Seiichi!" The girl's fierce attitude was the stark opposite to her cute looks.

"Who are you?" Yagyuu asked politely and the rest of the team stood behind him, glaring at the doll-like girl accusingly. Now that Yukimura was back to normal, the regulars felt their old loyalty to their buchou returning to them. But the girl did not back off, instead taking a big step forward and stabbing Yagyuu in the chest with a sharp, red fingernail.

"I'm his girlfriend."

* * *

Please review! And for those who doesn't like OCs, I don't either. That's why they don't have names.


	3. PASSION

**A Prince of Tennis fanfic.  
SanaYuki pairing. Slight YukimuraxOC.  
**

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** The word _emasculate_ in this context means enfeebling, not castrating...

**NOTE:** Updated 01.10.08 at 12:00am.

Enjoy and... reviews please

**PASSION**

* * *

Passion is not Love. Passion is like attractiveness, sometimes mistaken for beauty, but always fading over time. But Love is the inner beauty which one will never lose, and shines like a star even in the darkest of hours.

* * *

"What's happening?" Kirihara asked as he returned from the court. To his annoyance, none of his senpai-tachi answered him, because they were too busy staring at a girl who had more resemblance to a doll than a human being. "At least be aware of where the match is up to even if you're not going to watch! My match is finished," Kirihara screamed, trying to gain his senpai-tachi's diverted attention, "it's Jackal-senpai and buchou's turn!"

"Akaya," Yanagi pulled his kouhai away, then turned to Yukimura, "Seiichi, it's D1 now."

Yukimura nodded and stood up, taking his racquet out of his bag. Pushing his way through the regulars, he ignored their questioning glares, concentrating on his up-coming game. The girl sat down after her attempts to reach Yukimura were stopped by Niou, pouting as she glared at Marui. Her mascara coated eyelashes created long shadows above her eyes, its natural colour rather obviously covered by cerulean contact lens. Niou had the mind to tell her that she was in the 'players only' area, but her sharp, crimson fingernails stopped him from doing so. Like the rest of the team, he prayed she was simply delusional when she had announced Yukimura as her boyfriend.

The team watched as Yukimura and Jackal decimated Ishida and Sakurai while keeping an eye on the girl. She was cute, they had to admit, but somehow, they felt uneasy and uncomfortable next to her. Several of the regulars - most notably Niou and Marui - began to frown when she jumped up at the seventh consecutive time, cheering loudly when Yukimura scored. They wondered if she knew Yukimura at all, because anyone who had seen Yukimura play - or had played him personally - would never be surprised at the shots Yukimura was playing.

When Yukimura and Jackal returned to the stands, the girl sprung up from her seat and ran towards Yukimura. She threw her arms around Yukimura - stunning the regulars - and he stiffly returned the hug. Marui turned away to hide his snarl, but spun around when he heard the girl's scream. She was holding onto one end of a white towel, with Sanada on the other. He glared at her and pulled the towel out of her hands without a word. She screamed again, demanding it back, but Sanada shook his head, claiming the towel as his.

"I don't care!" She screeched and Sanada ignored her, walking onto the courts. He prepared to serve when his water bottle hit him on the back. Spinning around, he cast a stony stare before returning to the game against Tachibana, leaving his team to restrain her.

"Sorry," Yukimura apologised when Sanada walked off court, after winning with flying colours, as usual. "She's just a bit..."

"Why are you apologising?" Sanada muttered, turning away from his captain, "I don't want to hear your apology." The rest of the team watched - despairingly - as Sanada left with his bag while the girl pulled Yukimura away in the opposite direction. It certainly felt as if the bond between their leaders had been torn apart and beyond repair. Their dreams of succeeding as the victors in the national's finals seemed even more distant than before.

"I'll talk to Seiichi." Yanagi finally said, breaking the silence, "and Genichirou."

Yanagi's report on Sanada, however, was less than optimistic and drove their hope of victory further into a dead end. "He was emasculating himself," Yanagi accounted, "and when I told him to listen, he stared at me like I was procrastinating his valuable training time." It went unsaid how emotionally down Sanada was, but it was obvious to the team, even to Kirihara. The fact that Yukimura was still blissfully behind rosy-tinted spectacles also went unsaid, although slight hopes glowed on the regulars' faces as Yanagi left for Yukimura's house.

Their data master came back ten minutes later to the café they were waiting anxiously at. He shook his head regretfully and their hearts sunk. "He was busy," Yanagi said, leaving out the part about his girlfriend. But the team understood perfectly, because deep inside their hearts, they could not deny that over the course of junior and senior high, Yukimura had become a familiar person to them.

Kirihara wondered if the buchou he idolised for so many years would return, but the sinking feeling in his heart told him that the worst was yet to come. And once again, his intuition was spot on.

It was after the quarterfinals when the storm – as it were – finally arrived. It began as a trivial argument between Yukimura and Sanada, who had played D1 in that round. It was a perfect match; the two of them dropping only one point. However, it was that precise point which ignited the dispute. The ball was driven down the centre and as single players, both of them immediately reached for the ball. And of course, their racquets crashed against each other's, and with a forceful bang, both frames were twisted into distorted ovals. It wasn't the broken racquet that caused the problem, because with one racquet broken, they still had another two. But Yukimura saw Sanada as a blockage and did not hesitate to say so after the match. Normally, Sanada would appease Yukimura by staying silent, nodding occasionally to show him his acknowledgement of his mistake, but today, it was different.

Sanada did not speak while taking Yukimura's criticism with his heart, although he was slowly losing his self-control when Yukimura's sentence was repeated and enthusiastically agreed with by the doll-like girl next to him for the fifth time. The atmosphere tensed as Yukimura finally pointed out that Sanada was in his way for that ball down the centre. Sanada simply nodded, but Yukimura's sharp glare requested an apology. Even though Sanada comprehended the look perfectly, he stayed quiet, busying himself with packing his bag.

In the end, it was the girl who spoke, "why aren't you apologising?" Sanada looked up at the demand and turned away again. She pushed his shoulder slightly to gain his attention, but without success. When Sanada ignored for her the third time, her face flushed red and raising her hand, she struck it across his cheek. The regulars gasped as an angry purple bruise marked where she slapped him.

The rigid look in Sanada's eyes did not disappear, nor were they replaced by surprise. "I'm not apologising," he spoke slowly, articulating his words, "because it was my forehand."

"So?" The girl asked, rolling her eyes and swatted the air around her as if there were annoying flies.

"When you play doubles, and when the ball goes down the centre, the person on the forehand is supposed to receive it." Sanada said unemotionally, "but of course..."

The girl scowled at the implied meaning. But before she could slap Sanada again, Yukimura stood up and abruptly, pulled Sanada up from his seat. "What are you saying?" He hissed in a dangerous tone.

"I was going to say that I shouldn't have reached for the ball, because my partner was you." Sanada answered truthfully. But in his frustration, Yukimura took it as a mocking humiliation.

"Well, I'm _sorry_ that I reached for the ball," he said sarcastically and the team cringed as their captains stared at each other with hostility.

"I wasn't asking for an apology." Sanada said, "but if you're going to give me one, you might just as well give it sincerely."

"Ne, ne," Marui jumped in the middle of the two, "why don't we have dinner now...?"

"Sure, let's go." Yukimura smiled and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Sanada politely declined the invitation, excusing himself with family matters.

"Why is she here?" Niou muttered to Marui as he ordered a platter of wasabi sushi.

"No idea," Marui said wistfully, "but she's even worse than the last one." He looked at the girl - who was sitting diagonally opposite him - through a pyramid of inari sushi and scowled. She was clinging onto Yukimura's arm like a parasite, insisting on feeding him, much to Marui's disgust. "I feel sick looking at her." He commented quietly to Jackal, who was on his left.

"Then, stop looking." Jackal was staring at his sushi, poking it with his chopsticks. At that exact moment, Kirihara squealed, pinching Niou's arm.

"What?" Niou snapped, annoyed at his kouhai's sudden pain-inflicting action. Then when he did not receive an answer, he followed Kirihara's gaze and was petrified as well. The girl was leaning onto Yukimura, her lipstick coated lips closing in on his. Her hands - with super long and super red fingernails - cupped Yukimura's face as she tilted her head slightly. Marui covered his eyes with a piece of salmon sushi while Kirihara busied himself with another inari pyramid. Yagyuu turned away, conversing with Yanagi and Jackal, and Niou simply stared, dumbfounded.

"Get off." Yukimura had pushed her away before she could force her lips onto his. "I told you I won't kiss you."

"But why?" She wailed, "why won't you?"

"No is no," Yukimura said as the regulars recovered from shock, "what part of it don't you understand?"

"Alright!" she sat back down, pouting, "I'm _sorry_, Seiichi."

Everyone felt the weight lifted off them, but for the rest of the night, wondered why once again, Yukimura refused to kiss his girlfriend. For those who put it into deep thoughts, such as Yanagi and perhaps only him, soon realised the reason, but for the others, they assumed that he probably had a salivary gland condition.

"Ah, you're still here..." The door slid open and Sanada walked in while letting in a chilly breeze.

"I thought you weren't coming." Marui grinned; somehow, seeing his fukubuchou nowadays was more comforting than seeing his buchou. "Take a seat," he added and pulled a chair over for Sanada.

"Thanks, but I'm not staying." Sanada said, appreciating Marui's friendly gesture, "I'm just here to give Yukimura the club notebook." He said, taking something from inside his jacket, "I think you accidentally put it in my bag."

Yukimura took the notebook and muttered 'thank you', avoiding eye-contact all the while. Sanada nodded, turning to leave the shop. "Sanada," Yukimura suddenly spoke, his quiet voice cutting through the noise with ease, "why don't you have dinner with us and we can discuss the line-up for the next match?"

There was hesitation, but after a moment of awkward silence, Sanada sat down obediently. Chatter slowly replaced the stillness as their two leaders began to discuss the line-up for the semi-final. Everything seemed back to normal as Yukimura arranged names on the sheet while Sanada added his own constructive comments occasionally.

But that was the calm before the storm.

A tea cup overturned when Sanada slammed his fist on the table and Kirihara's sushi pyramids crumbled down when Yukimura took his anger out with a powerful punch. Everyone was silenced, secretly glad that they were the only ones in the shop. They froze as their buchou and fukubuchou stared at each other, contaminating the tranquil air with a murderous aura.

"You don't even care about the team!" Sanada bellowed, "do you even want the national's title?!"

"Of course I do!" Yukimura yelled back, "you're just setting me back from doing so! You're hindering me!"

"I'm hindering you? What are you talking about?" Sanada shouted and the team held their breaths. "You are the one hindering yourself! I'm not the one who turns up to practices late and I'm not the one who skips one in four practices!"

Yukimura was quiet, but Sanada did not stop at that. "What happened to the buchou we're supposed to be inspired by?" His voice was calmer, but the anger in it was not subdued. "Where is the Yukimura Seiichi we know? Can you still lead us to the championships? Can you lead us in beating Seigaku? Can you?" Yukimura did not answer, looking away from Sanada's piercing glare.

"Stop it!" The girl shrieked, raising her hand to silence him with a slap. But Sanada's quick reflexes - from tennis and kendo - allowed him to catch her wrist, holding it in an iron band.

"I didn't stop you last time because of Yukimura," Sanada said, casting her an icy look, and releasing his grip, "but I won't allow it for the second time."

The girl rubbed her swollen wrist and sobbed silently. "Yukimura," Sanada asked, "why have you become such a person? How can you allow her to be so ruthless? Is someone like her more important than the team?"

"You don't even understand! You don't know my feelings! You don't know ANYTHING!" Yukimura's face contorted with anger, "don't think that you know everything!"

"Of course I don't," Sanada said calmly, "but the doubts in your leadership I thought I would never have... well, I was wrong."

"URUSAI!" Yukimura finally snapped. "IF YOU'RE SO UNHAPPY, WHY DON'T YOU JUST QUIT?!"

Sanada looked at his buchou with an unmoving gaze, although a flash of sadness glimmered for a brief second. "Why have you become like this?" He muttered before running out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Genichirou!" Yanagi shouted after him. Yukimura bit his lips and stole a look at his team. Then, without another moment of hesitation, he strolled out of the shop, walking the opposite direction to Sanada. "Seiichi!" Yanagi ran after Yukimura, "Seiichi!"

"We're so doomed." Marui mumbled. The rest of the team did not respond, but all of them could feel the cloud of depression returning in ten fold.

* * *

**Please review!**


	4. LOVE

**A Prince of Tennis fanfic.  
SanaYuki pairing.  
**

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** There is a lot of dialogue, and I know I promised one of my reviewers that I would put more description in... so I'm really sorry. But I actually wrote this chapter before I got the review... so... but I'll make the next one descriptive!! And, on a side note, I actually find it hard to convey the team's emotions without them speaking. And I find revealing the plot by dialogue (especially when Yanagi's speaking to the two), more suspenseful. So, forgive me. And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Enjoy and... reviews please

**LOVE**

* * *

Love is a strange emotion. When one thinks of it, a conflicting multitude of thoughts arise. Love is pitiful and marvellous, empowering and parasitic. It is hideous; it is beautiful, weak and strong. But what really is love? There is no other word that can replace it, nothing that could ever describe it. And why? Because love, is simply love.

* * *

Street lamps glared down with their bright yellow light, as though accusing him of being a bad leader, but more so, a terrible friend. Yukimura buried his hands in his pockets, walking down the deserted streets and letting the cool breeze refresh him. No matter how hard he tried to forget, the disappointed look on Sanada's face never left him.

He arrived at a park after a while - it must have been quite a long time since he was feeling breathless - and took a seat on a bench. He pondered over Sanada's words, questioning himself on the actions he should have taken. Yukimura rubbed against his temples, cursing himself for being a coward as he reflected on how he ran away from his team after that argument.

"Seiichi." Yanagi's quiet voice pulled Yukimura out of his deep thoughts.

"Renji." Yukimura stared into the ground as Yanagi sat next to him.

"Genichirou," Yanagi began, "and the team are quite upset." Yukimura nodded, hoping this was not the beginning of a night long lecture. "Your attention seemed to be diverted by those girls you're dating. I'm not saying that you shouldn't date, but you have to consider the feelings of your team. You are the captain, after all."

"I know," Yukimura mumbled, "but you don't understand the reason why I date."

"Actually," Yanagi said calmly, "I do." When Yukimura looked up, narrowing his eyes, Yanagi let a little chuckle escape his lips.

"You don't love any of them, do you?"

Yukimura shook his head. "That's why you never kiss them." Yanagi commented matter-of-factly.

"So," Yukimura said, looking up at the glowing moon, "what do you understand?"

"A lot." Yanagi said, "but you'll have to figure out a way to deal with this yourself. I can't help you with that. I suggest you to hurry up though, because our team is breaking apart at a disastrous rate right now and according to my data... we'll definitely lose against Seigaku." With that, Yanagi left, leaving Yukimura alone.

Surrounded by noisy cicadas and rustling trees, Yukimura buried his face in his hands, confused and lost. That night, the rain poured mercilessly and the wind became violent, raging as the lone boy sat on the bench. Until the break of dawn, the famed captain of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku was unmoved by the rain and was soaked to his skin, hoping to appease himself.

The day of the semi-finals had flawless weather and was a typical perfect day - all except for Yukimura and Sanada's absence. "Where is buchou?!" Marui screamed at no one in particular.

"Where's Sanada?" Niou said, lifting Yagyuu's wrist to look at the time. "We have three minutes until registration closes."

The team was gathered near the registration table in the arena where the semi-finals was held. Seigaku, Hyoutei and their opponent for today - Rokkaku - were already registered and in a few minutes, Rikkai would be disqualified for not having their players there.

"It's unfortunate that two of them are missing." One of the passer-bys said. The team silently agreed; with eight people on the team, if one of them was unavailable, another could fill in the space, however, since two members were missing, they had no other options. The cheerleaders - including the male ones, of course - were already out looking for the two leaders, but considering the time limit, they had no other choice but to find substitutes.

"We can pull two up from the club." Marui said.

"Two minutes." Niou said, the urgency in his voice obvious and contaminating.

"We'll have to change the names on the line-up _and _the order then," Yanagi said.

"What's the difference between getting disqualified now and playing without buchou _and _fukubuchou?" Kirihara mumbled.

"If we win three consecutive matches..." Yagyuu said, but the spirit of the team was so broken that the idea of winning seemed unconceivable.

"Ouja Rikkai?" A member from Kakinoki walked past and taunted, "all of you are so pathetic! You're just going to get beaten to a pulp!" He and his friends laughed, but no one from Rikkai retorted as all of them saw how true those words were. They felt heavy - as if they were drenched with misery and humiliation - as the mockery rang in their ears, a reminder of how broken the team was.

"How about saying that after you win against us," a boy stepped out from the shadows and joined the regulars, "I'll tell you what's pathetic. It's you, predicting our loss even though you can't even take a game from me."

"Sanada!" Marui sprung up and hugged his fukubuchou, "thank god you're here!"

"Sorry I'm late." Sanada took the line-up sheet from Yanagi.

"Where's Yukimura?"

The team silenced and their faces dropped once again.

"Fifty-nine seconds!" Niou warned.

Sanada creased his eyebrows and ran over to the registration table, followed by the team. He took the pen on the table and said solemnly, "Niou, you'll play Singles 1, it's too late now."

"Thirty seconds."

He placed the pen at the beginning of Yukimura's name and with one fluid motion, ran the pen across the paper. But before the pen touched 'Yuki', a hand snatched the pen out of Sanada's hand and signed at the bottom of the sheet, under the column 'buchou'.

Sanada looked beside him and saw the familiar face of Yukimura next to him. He was signing the documents and when he finished, he sauntered over to a tree, under which he sat down. The team gathered around him, staring at their buchou. He was sweat-covered; his face feverish red and his hair uncharacteristically messy. "Gomen, gomen, gomen..." Yukimura kept whispering as he was dragged into Court A.

"Where were you?" Marui asked Sanada as Kirihara and Yanagi faced Kurobane and Amane.

"I passed out." Sanada replied in a monotone. Those who heard it gulped down their gasps of horror; their fukubuchou was not someone who would normally collapse under training, unless of course, the training was something he devised to kill himself. Marui wondered what Sanada did to his body, considering the possibilities of kendo training for ten consecutive hours or one million push-ups in a row. Yagyuu, on the other hand, thought the probable cause to his collapse was due to an emotion breakdown, but that was furiously denied by Sanada.

"Buchou?" Marui turned to the other late-comer.

"I passed out." Yukimura answered impassively, just in time for Yanagi - who finished the match with Kirihara in record time - to hear.

"Seiichi, don't tell me you stayed in that park for the whole night!" Yanagi cried, "it was raining!"

Yukimura shrugged and turned to praise their second year ace for gaining a second record; Kirihara now held the record for the fastest singles and fastest doubles match played in the tournament.

"Should you two play?" Yagyuu asked worriedly. "You two are in Singles 1 and 2 anyway, so by that time..."

"Forfeit? Nonsense." Sanada scowled. "Even if they're matches that won't affect the outcome, Rikkai still has to dominate."

No one dared to oppose, but all of them silently disagreed; Sanada's face was a ghostly white, except for the purple mark left by the doll-like girl, and his whole body was trembling, even though he seemed unaware of his condition. Yukimura, in contrast, was flushing red from his face to his neck and his eyes were dull without the glimmer he typically had while waiting for his match. Both of their leaders were sick, but why, they could not understand; their leaders never got sick from rain - with the exception of Yukimura's hospitalisation during junior high - and never passed out after training no matter how demanding it was.

Sanada tugged on the strings of his racquet as he stood up for his match. He walked onto the court, his steps unstable, and faced Saeki Kojirou. There was no time to relax, because Niou and Yagyuu had lost Doubles 2, making this match accountable. Sanada's movements were slow and Saeki's sharp eyes predicted all of his shots, dominating the match easily in the first half.

During the second half, Sanada's steps became quicker as his body warmed up, but it was still not enough. His opponent was much faster than his current state and it was almost luck that saved him from seven break points. Sanada could feel the hands of fatigue creeping up to smother him and when they reached tie-breaker, his legs were on the verge of turning into jelly. For the first time in his life - not including the times he played Yukimura - he was the passive one, chasing the ball as it zoomed over the net.

Sanada was glad he had spent all those time in the past few years on target practice, because in the end, it wasn't strength that drove him to victory - it was skills. When it came down to the last few points, Sanada barely had the strength to lift his racquet, but the precision he was able to achieve allowed him to force Saeki into making errors, and by that, he eventually won the match.

He walked back to the seats, glad that it was finished. His body was out of control now and it was a matter of minutes before he would collapse. Yukimura stood up from his seat, and without a glance at his fukubuchou, marched out on court, a forceful air surrounding him. "Let's have a good game," Aoi Kentarou faced Yukimura with a cheeky smile, "even though we've already lost."

Yukimura nodded solemnly and turned away to the baseline. Since he was a bit under the weather, the team wondered if it affected his mood, as he did not hesitate to enter the State of Self-actualisation in the first game. By the second game, it was evident Yukimura was keen to finish the match quickly by his rash use of Creeping Shadow. He was sweating quite a lot, and although Aoi was the underdog, Yukimura had an unexpectedly hard time taking the match.

When the match finally finished after thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds - the longest match Yukimura played in this tournament by far - both of them were exhausted. The score was 6-3 to Yukimura's favour, but it was nothing to be proud of, because it had taken far too long and it was a bumpy ride, with break points to both sides.

"We're playing against Seigaku in the finals," Yanagi said when the team assembled for the usual performance assessment.

"Ne, buchou, fukubuchou," Marui said, a little intimidated, "can we please talk to you two?"

"What is it?" Yukimura enquired casually, burying his face in a towel.

"Can you two stand up?" Niou asked and when they did, he slapped the two of them heavily. "Gomen, but you two need a wake up call."

Sanada and Yukimura stood - shocked - and glared at their team. "I don't really know how this started," Marui spoke softly, "but you two need to sort it out."

"We're doing this not only for the sake of victory, but for our friendship." Yagyuu said, "please, we beg you, fix this problem."

"We need our buchou and fukubuchou back," Kirihara said and the team walked away, leaving Sanada and Yukimura staring at their backs, wondering what that was about.

"Let's take a walk," Sanada picked up his bag. Yukimura hesitated for a moment, and then followed him. The two of them strolled to a park in silence, with Yukimura a pace or two behind Sanada. "They're right," Sanada suddenly stopped, "we need to talk."

"Fine." Yukimura said and sat down on a bench nearby. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Are you in denial of something?" Sanada questioned.

"No." Yukimura turned away.

There was silence, and when Sanada spoke again, it was the last thing Yukimura wanted to hear or answer to. "Why did you date those girls?" Sanada forced Yukimura to look at him in the eyes.

"Because I wanted to." There was a hint of reluctance in his voice and he brushed Sanada away, turning to face the opposite direction.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Yukimura inhaled deeply, letting the chilly air cool his mind. "Because I'm scared." He admitted finally.

"Of what?" A puzzled look appeared on Sanada's face.

"Falling in love."

"What does that have to do with my face?"

"If you don't understand, then too bad. I don't want to explain it," Yukimura muttered, standing up and walking off. "It's no use if you don't get it, ba-ka."

Sanada watched his captain's silhouette disappear as he lingered over the words. They felt bitter, yet he could not tell why. "Genichirou." The familiar voice of Yanagi intruded his thoughts. He looked sideways and sure enough, the data master was sitting next to him with a peaceful expression. "Have you sorted things out with Seiichi?"

"He's strange," Sanada said, "he speaks like he doesn't want me to understand. But when I don't understand, he gets angry. Anyway, he walked off before we could sort anything out."

"Then, perhaps you should know the reason why he dated." Yanagi said, "it's the key to everything."

"Stop being mysterious like him," Sanada said with a frown, "it's agitating."

Yanagi smiled, "it's because he wants to avoid being in love."

"I know that already and apparently that has something to do with my face."

"Well, of course it does," Yanagi paused, "because the person he's in love with..."

There was a period of tedious silence and Sanada, with a sudden realisation, felt his heart beat against his ribcage ferociously. Then, Yanagi spoke and confirmed his prediction.

"Is you, Genichirou."

* * *

Please review and tell me what you think! Just one more chapter to go: 1+11.

Thanks for continuing in reading this!

**NOTE:**  
So now, the 3 chapters about Yukimura's relationship are here: Lust, Passion and Love.  
I hope it is understandable why I named the chapters with those three words. At the beginning of every chapter, there is a quote, and that really contributes to the main theme of the story, which is sort of "finding the one you LOVE". Not _love_, which is actually lust and passion. I hope that is understood.


	5. 1 plus 1 is 1

**A Prince of Tennis fanfic.  
SanaYuki pairing.  
**

**Rating:** T - I hope it's still T...

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** YAY, the last chapter, finally. Now, I only have three more fics I have to write!! Anyway, the title of this chapter should actually be 1+1 _equals_ 1 with the equals in symbol form... but FF doesn't support that symbol... so now it's 1+1 is 1... A word of warning: suggestive contents.

Enjoy and... reviews please

**1+1 is 1**

* * *

One can achieve great things with talent and hard work.

But one cannot achieve one's greatest potential without having another person for support. Together, two can achieve great things and bring out each other's hidden potentials.

Eventually, they become one soul shared between two bodies.

* * *

Sanada sprinted from the park, down dimly lit streets and towards Yukimura's house. As the wind rushed by him, he smacked his forehead continuously to chase Yanagi's invoking words away, but they refused to leave him in peace.

He straightened his collar and wiped off the sweat on his forehead with his wristbands as he approached a plain but well-cared for house. He felt a sudden burst of emotions as he walked through the gate, catching a glimpse of the metal plate that had "Yukimura" engraved on it. Some of the windows glowed behind the mauve curtains, and when Sanada followed the path lined with delicate blue roses, he noticed that his buchou's window was lit.

After a moment of hesitation, he pressed the doorbell. A muted tinkling noise echoed behind the wooden door, followed by a series of footsteps rushing from deep inside the house. His heart beat quicker as he waited, but the sweet smell of gardenias calmed him a little, clearing his bewildered thoughts. Finally, the door opened and a beautiful face framed by slightly wavy hair peered out. The face disappeared again and the door opened invitingly.

"Sanada-nii-san," she smiled as she greeted him politely. Sanada noted mentally how much her grin resembled her brother's while returning the greeting. "Nii-chan's in the showers." She added when Sanada's eyes surveyed the living room, searching for his buchou.

He nodded and sat down on the couch. Unexpectedly, she sat down as well, and asked, "Sanada-nii-san, how come you haven't visited us in such a long time?"

Sanada felt the words on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back and excused himself with homework, exams and prefect duties instead of the truth. Yukimura's younger sister stated her understanding with a small "ah", but her sharp eyes seemed unconvinced. Sanada turned away to avoid her glance, diverting his attention to a water-colour painting, and wondered if she had the same mind-reading ability as her brother. He shivered slightly when he remembered how Yukimura read him and predicted his every single move last time they played.

But his heart chilled when footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs, and a boy descended down unhurriedly with an air of frightening grace swirling around him invisibly but clearly. Wearing a pair of faded track-pants, Yukimura had his shirt hanging from his shoulder as he dried his hair with a light-blue towel. Sanada watched as his buchou took a seat on an adjacent couch, waving his hand to dismiss his sister, who obeyed submissively. Water dripped off Yukimura's long hair, sliding down his bare back smoothly.

He stared at Sanada, wordlessly questioning the reason for his presence. "Um," Sanada cleared his throat, "I really need to talk to you."

"We've talked already," Yukimura said dispassionately, twirling a strand of wet hair.

"Renji told me something that I thought I should tell you."

"If it's about Akaya forging my handwriting then leaving love sonnets around the school, or Bunta sticking bubblegum on the ball machines," Yukimura said emotionlessly, "I really don't care."

"It's about you," Sanada said.

After a confused look appeared on his face, Yukimura's eyes widened in realisation and his mouth parted in a small scowl. He beckoned Sanada to follow him up the stairs and into the privacy of his room. Sanada sat down on the cushioned chair as Yukimura locked the door, a dismal expression clouding his delicate features.

"So, tell me." Yukimura said softly, sitting on the bed.

"He told me the reason why you didn't kiss those girls."

"I expected him to," Yukimura scoffed, "but he can run laps until he dies next time I see him."

Sanada gazed at his buchou and wondered if Yanagi's words were true; right now, Yukimura certainly did not look as if he was in love with Sanada. Neither of them spoke after that, each waiting for the other to break the awkward silence.

But it was Sanada who finally took the initiative. He took a deep breath and summoned all his courage, "Yukimura, is it true that you love me?"

Yukimura looked at him directly in the eye, then turned away and said, "of course." The ease of which Yukimura spoke those words shocked Sanada and for a moment, he could not believe his ears. "I love everyone on the team," Yukimura added.

A feeling of despair - the origin of it unknown - swept over Sanada and he cursed himself for being an idiot. He stood up. "I'm sorry for disturbing you tonight," he said and reached for the door.

"Wait." A firm hand gripped his wrist and Sanada halted, turning around to look at Yukimura, an overwhelming fragrance numbing his sense of smell as he did so. The enticing scent of papaya and passionfruit distracted his train of thoughts and Sanada felt the need for more. It was seductive and sweet, and it slowly dominated his conscience, wiping out all his thoughts except the desire to bathe in the sugary aroma.

"Sanada! Are you even listening?!"

Sanada blinked and looked at Yukimura. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was apologising," Yukimura said softly, lowering his tone, "for being a bad buchou and friend."

The obvious guilt in his voice gripped Sanada's heart tightly. Impulsively, he reached forward pulled Yukimura into a tight hug. "Welcome back," Sanada muttered.

Yukimura closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I," he finally confessed, "am in love with you." Then, pushing Sanada away, he added miserably, "but of course, I'm not asking you to return the feeling."

A kiss silenced him. Yukimura's eyes sprang open as Sanada's lips crushed on top of his, his arms tightening around his waist. After a moment of disbelief, Yukimura returned the embrace and deepened the kiss. Sanada gently picked Yukimura off the ground by the waist - without breaking the kiss - and placed him on the bed.

For a few minutes, they simply kissed and enjoyed each other's presence. Yukimura, however, soon became impatient and his hands began to explore Sanada's body under the shirt, caressing the well-toned muscles lustfully. With a few nudges from Yukimura, Sanada finally broke the kiss and wiggled out of his shirt. He slid his hands along Yukimura's back, and buried his face in Yukimura's chest, breathing in the smell of papaya and passionfruit shampoo.

But Yukimura pulled Sanada's head up - with slight force due to impatience - and entwined their tongues together. Yukimura felt Sanada's hand tugging on his pants and with a slight smile, he pulled the cord to let his pants loose. Their chests pressed against each other's and both could feel their increased heartbeats pumping quickly and eagerly.

With one swift movement, Sanada flipped Yukimura face down towards the bed. Sanada took a deep breath - inhaling the enthralling fragrance at the same time - and tightened his arms. Yukimura buried his face in the pillow, muffling his groan, and smiled when Sanada finally collapsed next to him, falling asleep in fatigue.

Yukimura traced his finger over Sanada's lips tenderly and cringed as he suddenly remembered his younger sister. He hoped that she was in blissful unawareness, but when Sanada's arm reached up and pulled him into an embrace, the thought fled his mind immediately, as he took comfort from the warmth of the body next to him.

There was one day left until the Kantou finals against Seigaku and the regulars were stretching on the courts in the afternoon, ready for the last training session. Niou did another two sit-ups as he yawned, "Akaya," he called out when he caught sight of his kouhai, "can you get my spare racquet from the change rooms?" After a bribe of free dinner at the new sushi place, Kirihara nodded and turned back towards the change rooms.

"Niou," Marui sat down next to Niou and began his fifty sit-ups, "I was reading _Meitantei Conan_ and they had this chapter with FuuRinKaZan in it. Did you know that it's actually a war tactic from _The Art of War_ by _Sun Tzu_?"

"Yea, we learnt that during history when we did the chapter on Takeda Shingen from the Sengoku period." Niou said, yawning again. "Didn't you listen?"

"Oh. Whatever. But did you know that it's also a love tactic used by girls to get the guy they like?" Marui said, his grin widening.

"So?"

"So," Marui said exaggeratedly, "maybe that's how fukubuchou seduced buchou. With his FuuRinKaZan, I mean."

Niou stared at Marui and burst out laughing. Marui joined him as well, but after a moment, Marui stopped his laughter and said, "you know, it's not _that_ funny."

Niou was in tears and with a few deep breaths, he finally managed to speak. "Akaya... he actually went in... the change rooms..." Niou paused to laugh again, "he must have caught Sanada and Yukimura making out." Marui turned towards the direction of the change rooms and saw Kirihara standing with a fearful expression, clutching tightly onto the racquet belonging to Niou. Moments later, there was a shout from inside the change rooms and Kirihara sprinted off with the racquet still in his hands. Niou whistled a tone of amazement; he had never seen Kirihara run that fast before - it was as if there was a tiger behind him, but then again, his kouhai's greatest fear was Sanada.

The team gathered on the court - with the exception of their second year ace, who was in the middle of his 200 laps _warm-up_ - and were joined by their buchou and fukubuchou, both wearing a grave expression, indicating an extreme preparation for tomorrow's matches. Yukimura separated everyone into two groups and commenced training. The mood on the Rikkai courts was serious; they were all preparing themselves to the best of their ability for the battle against their archrival.

Marui walked up to Yukimura solemnly after his warm-up match, discarding his gum in a bin on the way, an indication of his seriousness. "Yukimura," Marui said, his tone of voice uncharacteristically sombre.

"What is it?" Yukimura asked casually, tugging on the strings of his racquet.

Then abruptly, the sober frown transformed into a cheeky grin. Marui took two steps back as Yukimura narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're wearing," Marui yelled and took off towards the safety of the rest of the team, "fukubuchou's shirt!"

* * *

Love, like all other relationships, is easily distorted and crumpled. It is like a white piece of paper that is ruined by an accidental flick of black ink. From that point on, it is impossible to return the paper to its original state. The only way the paper can be pure again is to replace the dirty one with a brand new sheet, one that is clean and empty.

Love is the same. When a crack appears in the bonding between two people, there is nothing that can be done to reverse the process. If one desperately tries to mend it, or carelessly leaves it alone, the crack will form a deep trench, trapping both people in it eternally. The broken relationship must be cast away to allow a new bond to blossom. And by that, Love will be born.

* * *

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**

There was slightly suggestive things, but I've tried my best to portray what they were doing without bringing this story into M. But if you _really, really, really _think that I should bring it up to M, then tell me.


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